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The Olympic Stadium complex in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is an astonishingly beautiful, sensitively designed, boldly conceived set of buildings, as these image taken by architect Shelby Doyle attest. The complex’s history teaches an interesting lesson about how such venues are used after the event for which they were designed, especially in this Olympic year.

Fans of the New York Mets exiting home games between the years 1964 and 2008 at Shea Stadium led a familiar march. Depending on the outcome of the game, fans would dejectedly shuffle or elatedly bounce down one of eight, 10-story-high circulation ramps

During “Wimbledon Fortnight” this wood-lined, 100-seat section of Wimbledon’s Centre Court found itself the focus of major tabloid attention. Seems there were some intriguing tennis fans in this Royal Box. They were, not surprisingly, Royal: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (and Pippa), Prince Charles and his wife Camilla; political: Prime Minister David Cameron, London Mayor Boris Johnson; sporty: Victoria and David Beckham, Andre Agassi and Stefi Graf, England Manager Roy Hodgson; and aging entertainer: TV presenter Bruce Forsythe. The Royal Box indicates who/what is important at any given moment and its occupants represent a fascinating cross-section of British culture. As in Roman times, this stratification of seating in Wimbledon brings political leadership into public view and the buzz about “how they will react/interact (or not)” is arguably as exciting as the event itself.

The NFL has a problem. Attendance in NFL stadiums has dropped every season since 2007, such that average game attendance over the past five years is down 4.5%. To counteract this drop, the WSJ reports that the NFL will introduce changes to make actually going to the game more enticing, including: lowering ticket prices, free WiFi, better in-stadium replay and improved smart phone apps.I came up with a few more ideas:

Welcome to Stadiafile, a blog devoted to the research, reflection and discussion of stadiums and sport venues past and present. Stadiafile will become a forum, a depository, a think tank, and a place to grapple with the wonder and the magic of going to stadiums and with our disappointments and our hopes for the next generation of this architecture for the masses.